Medical imaging systems, including X-ray, ultrasound, magnetic resonance, positron emission tomography, computed tomography, endoscopy, mammography, digital radiography, computed radiography and angiography systems, currently use digital imaging technology to generate and store data representing images in a repository. For example, during a patient examination, one or more images related to the examination are taken of an area of interest in the patient. Image representative data is stored in the repository in the imaging system. This image representative data is retrieved and displayed as an image for review by medical personnel.
Due to limited storage capacity of the repository in the imaging system, however, eventually the repository becomes full or near full. In this situation, some image representative data needs to be removed from the repository to make room for new data. To free up storage capacity in the imaging system, the imaging system provides the capability to delete data representing images or groups of images, for example, data representing a group of images related to a patient examination. A user of the imaging system employs a user interface to designate an image, a group of images, or the images related to a patient examination to be deleted from the repository of the imaging system. However, it is desired, or in some cases required, to preserve the image representative data.
Archiving systems have been developed which allow imaging systems to copy image representative data from the imaging system to the archiving system. One type of such archiving systems is termed Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS). In medical imaging, PACS are computers or networks dedicated to the storage, retrieval, distribution and presentation of images. They typically are located remote from the health care facility where the imaging system is located, and provide for replacement for hard copies of the image representative data, long term secure storage of electronic copies of image representative data, and remote access to the image representative data. The medical images in the PACS are stored in an independent format. The typical format for image storage is Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format. A user controls the imaging system to archive image representative data in the imaging system.
However, after the image representative data in the imaging system has been archived to the PACS, that data still remains in the repository in the imaging system. After archiving, if desired, a user manually deletes the images from the imaging system, in the manner described above, to free the space in the repository. This manual process is time consuming and subject to errors. For example, a user employs an image browser, which is a GUI, to locate the desired images. When there are many images in the repository, this can take a significant amount of time. The user also needs to properly designate the desired images to delete. A user may mistakenly delete images which should be kept, or may not delete images which should be deleted. The former results in desired images which are not available for review when requested; the latter results in storage space in the repository which is not freed.
A system which will automatically delete image representative data from an imaging system after it has been archived is desirable. Such a system will minimize errors in deletion of image representative data in the imaging system and facilitates search for images in the imaging system. By automatically deleting archived images it is unnecessary for a user to sort through them when looking for a desired image or group of images.